1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to blind spot detection in a vehicle. In particular, it relates to blind spot detection specifically for a motorcycle.
2. Description of Related Art
One of the major reasons for motor vehicle accidents are blind spots in the perspective of a driver of the vehicle. The driver blind spot occurs when a second vehicle is in an accompanying lane and is not visible in the rear view mirror or difficult to see because of its location relative to the view of the driver. Blind spot accidents will happen when a driver switches lanes and is not aware of the second vehicle's position relative to the vehicle. When that happens, a collision between the two vehicles occurs. A series of mirrors is typically used to help, but no matter what the vehicle—be it a sedan, van, truck or a motorcycle—there is difficulty in seeing vehicles in the adjoining lanes. The problem is especially dangerous for motorcycles seeing that a collision between a motorcycle and any other vehicle almost guarantees injury to the motorcycle driver.
There are currently several devices available for standard 4 or more wheeled motor vehicles, from radar to infrared, which basically assume where the blind spot is on a particular vehicle. These devices are based on the driver being positioned to the left or to the right side of the vehicle and can detect objects in that particular spot, notifying the driver to be aware. These devices work since the vehicle in normal operation stays relatively level and the second vehicle is in a predictable place. Motorcycles have a separate problem. First, the driver is positioned in the center of the vehicle and second, the blind spot is relatively different than it is for a car. Motorcycles while turning lean left and right relative to the ground and forward movement, which changes the relative position of vehicles in adjoining lanes, even though the motorcycle remains relatively in the same position in the lane. Currently, there is not a blind spot system detection device which addresses this issue.